The present invention relates to a new process for making alcohol mixtures preferably containing no more than 85% methanol and to gasoline compositions containing such alcohol mixtures.
It is well known to incorporate methanol into gasoline for the purpose of increasing the amount of useful fuel obtained. Unfortunately, the presence of a small amount of water in a methanol/gasoline mixture causes separation of the methanol and gasoline phases. In order to overcome this problem, higher alcohols can be added to methanol/gasoline mixtures, such compositions being able to tolerate a much greater amount of water than a simple methanol/gasoline mixture. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,832,149, 3,822,119 and 2,128,910. Higher alcohols can also be used alone. See U.S. Pat. No. 2,078,736.
Although it has been known for many years that alcohols can be incorporated into gasolines, most gasolines made at this time contain no alcohols, and this is due primarily to economic reasons.
It has also been long known to prepare alcohols by catalytically reacting carbon monoxide and hydrogen together using catalysts which may contain copper and thorium. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,707,331, 2,061,470, 2,500,913, 1.741,307, 1,625,929 and 1,831,179. Such processes, however, normally require extremely high reaction temperatures and pressures and hence have not been employed commercially to any significant extent.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, straightforward and very inexpensive process for producing alcohol mixtures for incorporating into gasoline.
In addition, it is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel alcohol mixture and in addition a gasoline composition containing this novel alcohol mixture.